TV adventurer Charley Boorman talks about the ups and downs of acting, as well
as his love affair with motorbikes and surviving cancer

Charley Boorman is best known for making an epic 20,000-mile journey across the globe by motorbike in the television series Long Way Round with his close friend Ewan McGregor. Charley lives in Barnes, south-west London, with his wife, Olivia, and teenage daughters, Doone and Kinvara.

How did your childhood influence your attitude to money?

As a kid, money was never really an issue for me. I remember getting a little bit of pocket money, 20p, and I'd go off to the shop and buy a massive bag of halfpenny sweets. My very first role, for which I was given a tricycle, was in Deliverance. I was just five and my dad [film director John Boorman] bribed me: "If you sit on that sofa next to the man, I'll give you this tricycle." Every time he wanted me to look in a different angle, he'd move the tricycle to another corner of the set and my eyes followed.

Then when I was 11 my father got me a part in The Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery, and I played a kid up a lamp post. I remember that money went towards buying my first motorcycle. I was completely nuts about motorcycles as a kid, so that was a major incentive, and my father helped me come up with the rest of the money. I suppose from an early age I knew that if I worked I could buy things that I wanted.

When you're in the film industry you have to be very self-motivated. I think back to all the TV shows that I've done and know that it's only you that's able to make it happen. I saw that in my father when he was trying to get projects off the ground. Dad would say, "You can only ever really make a movie every three years," meaning by the time you get the right people interested and convince people to put up the money and get the finance … I always remember it being a very long process.

Has there ever been a time when you worried about paying the bills?

Definitely. Before Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor, I was a struggling actor and spent 10 years, from the mid-Nineties to 2005, painting and decorating people's kitchens and bathrooms. During that period I'd get the odd film, which is how I met Ewan, but other than that I was grafting away so I'd definitely be sitting there waiting for cheques to come in before I could pay the bills.

You're a TV adventurer, travel writer and an actor. Of all your commercial ventures, which has been most lucrative?

I suppose my book and TV work has been the most lucrative over the years. People imagine that if you make TV shows you make millions of pounds and I wish I did, but there are lots of people who want their money back. I've been very lucky in doing Long Way Round. I don't think any of us believed that it would be anywhere near as successful as it was. Certainly for me it was life-changing.

Did you always plan your career, or have opportunities just come your way?

I think in the career that I've chosen just planning a summer holiday is nigh on impossible. My wife and kids plan their holiday and if I can come I'll buy a ticket late and go. As a freelancer life is always much more complicated because you can never really plan ahead. Also someone can offer me a job but then I don't get the money for another three months, so I think: "Well, we can't do it now but we can always go later."

You're the son of a famous film director. Is your dad a hard act to follow?

I don't think so, although if I was a film director he'd be a hard act to follow. But because I went off to be an actor he was more of an inspiration than a hindrance. Both my parents were always 100 per cent behind whatever I was doing and said: "Go for it!"

What has your globetrotting taught you about wealth?

I've travelled around the world and done a lot of work with Unicef, so I've seen a lot of poverty, but one lesson I've learnt is that the less some people have, the more willing they are to help. Their generosity is extraordinary, whereas when I come back to Britain people seem so busy rushing around and nobody has any time. I think people forget how well off we actually are. Brits are definitely more materialistic but in the many parts of the world people are far too busy living day-to-day rather than watching telly or worrying about what phone they need.

Are you a spender or a saver?

I struggle to save and if I've got a bit of spare cash I can't resist looking at motorbikes. My passport says that I'm an actor but I also work in production for the TV stations, so I'm involved from the conception of the idea, finding money to making it, getting it out there, then selling it around the world. All the money that you hope to make always comes in dribs and drabs. It would be great if I got paid with one big fat cheque but that never happens, so by the time the next "drib" comes along I need it.

What have been your best and worst buys?

My best financial decision has been buying property. I was fortunate that I managed to buy my first house when I was quite young. I used to live in Fulham and the property market bubble seems to be holding out.

Worst decision? Wasting money on cars. I had a fantastic Peugeot 205 GTI that I owned for a number of years and wanted to sell it but discovered that I'd lose around £10,000, so I changed my mind and decided to run it into the ground. I bought the car new but I've never had a big flash car like a Ferrari.

Did your battle with cancer in 2009 change your attitude to life?

Yes. I first had a big brush with cancer 16 years ago when sadly my sister Telsche died from ovarian cancer. That was a huge change for me. I was married with a new baby, my first child with my wife, Olivia.

It made me realise that anybody can go at any time and, after getting cancer myself, you do worry. One of the big issues was realising how vital it is to have your finances sorted and a decent will in place, so that people left behind don't spend years sorting it out all because of your laziness. That was the most important driver for me. I was very practical. My sister's death definitely changed my attitude and when I subsequently got cancer it reaffirmed the view that you've got to live life. I didn't want to sit there with any regrets, so it definitely made me feel that I want to get out there and do things.

Would you ever appear in a reality show if the fee was good?

At the moment I'm busy, but ask me in 10 years if I can't get a TV show together.

Is there anything you'd change about the way you do business?

Nothing, I wouldn't change anything that I've done. Looking back and regretting mistakes is a waste of time, you have to learn from these mistakes and move on.

How do you teach your daughters the value of money?

I give the kids a small allowance. My elder daughter likes to go shopping like any teenage girl, and she's already realised that it's better value to go for lesser-known brands. I took them both on a Unicef project in one of the biggest slums of the world in Nairobi. We met kids their age, saw how they lived, and I think that helped a bit. It's very important to travel when you're young, not necessarily in Europe but to push the boundaries a bit, look around and see how the majority of people really live. I think that everyone should do that.

Do you prefer to pay by cash, card or cheque?

It depends what country I'm in, but I'm happy to pay by card because it's easy.

What's your biggest extravagance?

That has to be my collection of motorbikes. I have more than 10. A couple of different bikes are for off-road riding and I do a lot of track days, racing around Silverstone and Donnington. I collect them as well and have a couple of classic bikes. I just love riding and it depends on my mood which bike I pick. Olivia has a licence and rides, as do both of my daughters, who are 15 and 16.

What's the most 'celebrity' thing you've ever done?

I've got a comfortable lifestyle but I've never done anything too flash, which is sad. I don't have the means to rent a private jet for the hell of it and fly off for the weekend. Filming my new series in South Africa was really good fun and we had a laugh. I met some South Africans who told me that I'd been to more places in South Africa than they had. During filming, a lot of people had no idea who I was, but when I was on safari, in the middle of the Kalahari Desert looking for lions, a local bushman said: "Ah, you're the guy who rides the motorbikes." It was certainly my least expected encounter, but then everyone has satellite TV these days.

What's your favourite charity?

That has to be Unicef and Dyslexia Action. I've struggled with dyslexia all my life and I know that a dyslexic person doesn't fit inside the box either at school or work. A lot of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, including Richard Branson. As an actor, scripts were a nightmare, so I get through them in phases, but it just takes me a bit longer.

When Ewan and I travelled around the world and were looking for a charity in the countries we were riding through, we were leaving our children behind, so the idea of Unicef looking after children all over the world seemed like a really good fit. I also support Movember but, because I have a moustache all year round, that makes me a "Movator". It's all a bit of a giggle and Movember is a fun charity, but they're on target to raise £120m for men's health.

Does money make you happy?

Money buys you time, and that's the best thing. When you don't have it, you worry all the time, fretting about what bills to pay, and when you've got enough you don't worry. For me, that's the biggest advantage.